Police stand alert as they secure the site of a bomb explosion in Lahore on February 13, 2017. PHOTO: AFP

LAHORE: At least 10 people including Traffic DIG Ahmed Mobin were killed and at least 83 others injured on Monday in an explosion near the Punjab Assembly in Lahore.

The incident occurred as hundreds of chemists were protesting nearby against a new regulatory law, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said.

IG Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera said five police officers were among the dead.

“It was a suicide attack. The bomber exploded himself when successful negotiations were underway between police officials and the protesters,” Sukhera told reporters.

SSP East Zahid Mehmood Gondal was also killed in the attack.

A policeman stands guard at the scene after a blast in Lahore. PHOTO: REUTERS

Up to 400 people had attended the protest, according to an AFP reporter who was on the scene when the explosion occurred. “Suddenly there was a bang and a huge blast,” he said. “Everybody ran for safety.”

Police cordoned the blast site, while rescue workers moved the injured to nearby hospitals.

PSL

Social media users were quick to suggest that the blast was meant to derail plans to hold the highly-anticipated final of the Pakistan Super League in Lahore.

The second edition of the annual T20 tournament – like the first – is ongoing in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns, but after the recent military crackdown on extremism, officials were confident enough to pick Gaddafi Stadium to host the final.

Condemnation

Political and military leaders including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, army chief General Qamar Bajwa, and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah condemned the incident.

“We will continue this fight against the terrorists among us and will continue to fight it until we liberate our people of this cancer and avenge those who have laid down their lives for us,” the prime minister said in a statement. “We will not stop until we can call ourselves a free and secure people. That is a promise.”

Meanwhile, according to the ISPR, the army chief instructed the local commander and intelligence agencies to provide all necessary assistance to the civil administration in evacuating the injured and apprehending those responsible for the incident.

TTP claims responsibility

A spokesperson for Jamaatul Ahrar, a faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group previously claimed responsibility for the March 2016 Easter bombing at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore, which killed over 70 people.

Meanwhile, schools in the provincial capital will remain closed on Tuesday, All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association announced in a statement.

Sad very sad. Indian agencies have gone rogue they are causing huge destruction in the sub-continent. First UAE embassy attacked in Afghanistan then today suicide bomb in Lahore. This will have reprecussions hope for safety of ordinary Indians. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Recommend

This is the game of RAW that wants foreigners to be scared away from PAKISTAN.

I have been saying this from day one…Pakistan need to play the same game in HINDUSLUM.

Pakistan need to cause havoc during Indian Cricket League matches. and harm HINDUSLUM infrastructure plans. Otherwise it’s very easy for HINDUSLUM to damage Pakistan by using such lone wolf attacks. (there is no dearth of such wasted lives in AFGHANISTAN)Recommend

It hurts me when people across the border celebrate each others’ deaths.Either on Indian side or on Pakistani side, loss of any innocent life should be condemned. No double standards please. No common man should suffer as a result of extreme ideologies or miscalculated government policies. As a human being, I condemn this attack. May God give strength to the family of deceased. With my Pakistani brothers and sisters _/_.Recommend

Hatred from both sides is so out of place at a sad time like this,People should stop painting all their neighbours with the same brush! There are so many types of people in both India and Pakistan.Sweeping generalisations are unfair and unhelpful!Recommend

We know our neighbors too well and there is only one agency that can be behind this. They don’t want Pakistan to have anything good. India is probably the worst neighbor nation ever. We know their proxies very well.Recommend

This is an act of crude terror unleashed by coward enemies of Pakistan. The only and one is sitting in our east who doesn,t want to see Pakistan progressing. We,in unison, condemn the killings of our innocent citizens and urge the goverment to take stern action against India and reply him in same coin.Recommend

@Atif: Terrorism has been largely brought under control but India will continue to use Afghanistan as a base to mount these cowardly attacks. Pakistan should control the border with Afghanistan better and repatriate the Afghan refugees who are engaging in this crime. People should not change their lives because of this attack so that the enemies of society do not get satisfaction.Recommend